


middle name.

by porcelainsimplicity



Series: avengers drabbles. [26]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Drabble Series, M/M, octuple drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 11:04:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6421405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/porcelainsimplicity/pseuds/porcelainsimplicity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pietro was being shown all the framed photos on the mantle when one caught his eye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	middle name.

Pietro was being shown all the framed photos on the mantle when one caught his eye. He continued to let Lila explain who the grandparents were in the one she was holding, but he reached for the one that he'd noticed. It was a picture of Nathaniel when he was a baby, and he was only certain of the fact that it was Nathaniel because he was wearing an outfit with his name on it.

His full name, which was apparently Nathaniel Pietro Barton.

Nathaniel _Pietro_ Barton.

"He hasn't told you about that, has he?" 

Pietro turned around to see Clint's ex-wife Laura standing there and he shook his head. "He apparently doesn't tell me anything."

"Lila, why don't you go see what Daddy and Cooper are up to?" Laura said, and Lila pouted for a moment before running from the room. "I'm not surprised he hasn't told you. He never told me anything either. You can blame his upbringing for that."

Pietro looked down at the photo then back at Laura. "Why does your son have my name for his middle name?"

Laura walked over to him and took the photo from his hands, setting it back on the mantle. "I was pregnant with Nate when Sokovia happened. We had separated by that point but that didn't mean I wasn't keeping track of him. As soon as the news said the Avengers were there, I knew that meant he was. And when he got back, when he came back here, he told me the story of how you saved his life."

"He's never told me he even remembers that," Pietro mumbled. "He acted like the day we met was the first day he'd ever seen me."

"That's Clint for you," Laura said. "He drives me absolutely crazy sometimes. But he definitely remembers that you saved his life, and he wanted Nate's middle name to be Pietro in thanks for the fact that because of you Nate was going to have a daddy to visit instead of a gravestone."

Pietro looked over at her. "I don't know what to do, Laura. I don't even know if I should talk to you about this."

"I know exactly how you feel," Laura said, reaching out to put a hand on Pietro's shoulder. "And he's told me what he did. The thing you need to understand about Clint is that he always does what he thinks is right at the time. At the time, he felt it was right to give Nate your name. And at the time he met you, he made the decision to pursue you without making you feel he was doing it out of some sort of life debt. As for keeping us a secret, I'm really not that surprised that he didn't tell you. He got this place set up to keep us off of the radar and to keep us safe. He thought it was right to keep us a secret from you until he felt like it was the right time."

"It's been almost a year and all I can think about now is all the things he hasn't told me," Pietro said. "Like, what else is it not the right time for? What else is there that he's hiding?"

"I wouldn't call it hiding," Laura said. "I'd call it more selective sharing. Clint and I were married for eleven years, Pietro, and I'm still not sure I know who he really is."

"I don't know if I can forgive him," Pietro said softly. "Trust and truth are very important to me."

"Give it time," Laura said. "He'll earn the trust back, and you'll convince him to tell you the truth. You're different, Pietro. The way he talks about you, it's like he knows he's finally found the one he's been searching for. He's not going to let you go."

"I don't want to let him go either," Pietro said, looking back at the photo. "I just don't understand why he didn't tell me."

"Unless you can get him to open up about his childhood, which is the most difficult thing in the world I might add, you're going to just have to learn that this is how Clint is. And I know how difficult that can be, but loving him is worth it."

Pietro smiled. "Yeah, it is."

"He's happier with you than he ever was with me, and I know that without him even saying it," Laura said.

"Mommy!" came Lila's voice. "Nate's eating grass again!"

Laura squeezed Pietro's shoulder before turning and walking towards the front door. Pietro turned back to the photo and stared at it. 

Nathaniel Pietro Barton. 

That was going to take some getting used to. 

And Wanda could never find out. Ever. He'd never hear the end of it.


End file.
